Open Call for Residencies at Rupert 2017 Autumn/Winter

Rupert’s Residency Program is suited for local and international thinkers and practitioners: artists, writers, curators, sound artists, cultural managers, and academics, providing them with the opportunity to live and work in Vilnius while developing individual projects and immersing themselves in the region’s creative sphere. Run alongside Rupert’s Alternative Education, Exhibitions and Public programs, it also enables residents to benefit from collaboration with these programs that draw participants and mentors from a wide range of complementary artistic backgrounds, as well as attend talks, lectures and workshops by prominent curators, artists and thinkers from all over the world.

Located in the picturesque area of Valakampiai in Vilnius and only a short distance from the city’s flourishing cultural centre, Rupert is set by the river Neris and a small river beach, surrounded by peaceful fields and a forest. The residencies are located in a newly-constructed building Pakrantė designed by award-winning Lithuanian architect Audrius Ambrasas, operating as an arts incubator which houses a number of creative industries initiatives. Each resident is provided with a studio space and mezzanine (approximately 52 sq m. altogether) to be used as a production and research space during the residency. The studio is fully furnished and equipped with WiFi. The building also houses a reading room, conference room, and a kitchen, all of which are open for residents’ use. Each resident is also provided with a Mac computer and a bicycle.

The residency contribution is 450 EUR a month for studio, utilities, administrative support and 2 studio visits per month. However, at least half of residencies are fully funded and FREE thanks to the support of Lithuanian Council for Culture and other grants. Applicants are responsible for covering personal (daily and travel) expenses, though a limited number of travel and production grants are available for some selected candidates. Rupert’s team will issue acceptance letters for successful residents and support their applications for external grants to cover residency fee, travel, food, production and other costs.

Rupert is a centre for Art and Education devoted to establishing close cooperation between artists, thinkers, researchers, and other cultural actors through interdisciplinary programs and residencies. A knowledge-based platform for innovative creative production, Rupert integrates with the social and cultural framework of the city of Vilnius while simultaneously supporting a strong international focus.

RESIDENCY DURATION

Individual residencies can last from 1 to 3 months or potentially longer in exceptional cases. Residents are asked to propose their preferred duration of stay and if accepted this can be negotiated according to studio availability and schedule. Artist collectives up to 3-4 persons can apply to an individual residency spot. Residencies will take place between 1 July — 31 December, 2017.

There is a 10 € application fee towards administrative costs of residency Open Call. It can be paid via PayPal through Rupert’s website before midnight, 27 March, 2017, either separately or together with the submission of the application. Bank transfer can also be arranged if the applicant doesn’t have a Paypal account.

Successful applicants will be selected for Skype interviews with residency admissions jury, which will take place shortly after the application deadline.

RESEARCH STIPENDS FOR ARTISTS FROM THE NORDIC-BALTIC REGION

There is also a number of stipends available for artists and curators from the Nordic-Baltic region (Denmark, Finland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Åland, Estonia and Latvia) who are invited to spend a part of their residency at Rupert researching, discussing and developing alternative education strategies and methods in arts together with other residents and the team. We also encourage artists with a sound-based practise from the Nordic-Baltic region to apply as sound-walks, workshops and even concerts would a welcome aspect of the educational programme getting artists, local community and the team involved.

Travel expenses, residency fee and daily stipend/small production budget will be covered for recipients of the stipend for a 2-month residency at Rupert. Applicants for this programme are asked to submit the same materials as for regular residency (application form, CV and portfolio), and also include a short motivational letter for the programme, specifying their interest in the field of alternative education and their ideas for contributing to Rupert’s Alternative Education programme. The research residency is generously supported by Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture.